School cafeteria workers have a thankless job. After all, it’s impossible for everybody to like the food you offer — and few appreciate the work that goes into serving several hundred children every day.
However, the manager of a cafeteria at a Virginia elementary school is receiving national attention for doing a little something extra.
Each morning she uses a Sharpie to write messages of encouragement on bananas for students.
Stacey Truman started writing the messages last month at Kingston Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Va. They’re upbeat sayings like, “Be a great friend,” “Reach for the stars” and “Your future is bright.”
Truman got into the banana-message habit with her own kids, and decided that other students might enjoy the words of wisdom, too.
It didn’t take long for people to notice. The school principal said about 50 students each day choose a banana as part of their meal and look forward to the messages.
The principal shared pictures of the bananas online, and when the Dole fruit company learned what Truman was doing, it sent a gift of more than 500 bananas to the school.
The messages are a small gesture, but they are the sort of thing that can be important to kids.
Extra efforts like this occur regularly at virtually every school in the country.
Few get national attention, but all make a difference.
